Minnesota State is the top seed for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball tournament, which will be played Wednesday through Saturday at Franklin Rogers Park.
The Mavericks, who have won a program-record 27 straight games, have won this tournament the last two seasons and would be the favorite to win again, though all three of their conference losses came to second-seeded St. Cloud State on April 1-2.
Minnesota State has the top offense in the Northern Sun, batting .350 in league games, and the top pitching, with a 2.29 ERA in Northern Sun games, which is almost a run better than any other team.
The Mavericks have the deepest rotation of Danny Miller, Blake Schwartz and Luke Putz, who are a combined 24-3 this season, which means pitching shouldn't be an issue this weekend.
Jeremy Sudbeck, Patrick Dockendorf, Aaron Berner and Steven Helget all rank in the top 10 in the conference for batting average, and Matt Kuchenbecker led the conference with 46 RBIs.
There are some other players to watch this weekend. St. Cloud State outfielder Jordan Smith might be the best player in the league, batting .477 in conference games, and teammate Scott Lieser just threw a no-hitter last week.
Augustana's Charlie Dubanoski batted .457 in conference game, and teammate Nate Baumann led the Northern Sun with seven homers.
Showing posts with label MSU baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MSU baseball. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
MSU baseball team prepares for national tournament
Check out a feature on Minnesota State outfielder/pitcher Danny Miller in Thursday's print edition.
Miller, a junior, has been a stalwart in the offensive and defensive lineup for the last three seasons, but he's also been the winning pitcher in the two biggest games.
He's only pitched in four games this season but was the winning pitcher when the Mavericks defeated Southwest Minnesota State in the championship game of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament and the final game against St. Cloud State at the Central Region tournament which propelled Minnesota State into this weekend's national quarterfinals at Cary, N.C.
The Mavericks (44-14) take on Southern Indiana at 5 p.m. Sunday in the opening round.
On Friday, the weekly column will focus more on how this team emerged from a good, but not great, season to the fifth national tournament in program history.
The Mavericks needed to sweep a doubleheader against St. Cloud State on the final day of the regular season to clinch the Northern Sun championship. The next weekend, the Mavericks overcame two elimination games to win the conference tournament. At the region tournament, the Mavericks were the unbeaten team in the championship series but lost the opener to St. Cloud State and needed to win the final game to advance.
Baseball success is nothing new to Minnesota State, and a national championship would be the school's second in two years, joining the women's basketball championship in 2009.
Miller, a junior, has been a stalwart in the offensive and defensive lineup for the last three seasons, but he's also been the winning pitcher in the two biggest games.
He's only pitched in four games this season but was the winning pitcher when the Mavericks defeated Southwest Minnesota State in the championship game of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament and the final game against St. Cloud State at the Central Region tournament which propelled Minnesota State into this weekend's national quarterfinals at Cary, N.C.
The Mavericks (44-14) take on Southern Indiana at 5 p.m. Sunday in the opening round.
On Friday, the weekly column will focus more on how this team emerged from a good, but not great, season to the fifth national tournament in program history.
The Mavericks needed to sweep a doubleheader against St. Cloud State on the final day of the regular season to clinch the Northern Sun championship. The next weekend, the Mavericks overcame two elimination games to win the conference tournament. At the region tournament, the Mavericks were the unbeaten team in the championship series but lost the opener to St. Cloud State and needed to win the final game to advance.
Baseball success is nothing new to Minnesota State, and a national championship would be the school's second in two years, joining the women's basketball championship in 2009.
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